Letters, March 3: Drone award an insult to those who face combat

March 3, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2013 file photo, outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta speaks during his last news conference as defense secretary. at the Pentagon. The U.S.-led military coalition in Afghanistan incorrectly reported a decline in Taliban attacks last year, and officials said Tuesday that there was actually no change in the number of attacks on international troops from 2011 to 2012. In mid-December, Panetta said "violence is down," in 2012, and that Afghan forces "have gotten much better at providing security" in areas where they have taken the lead role. He said the Taliban can be expected to continue to attack, "but overall they are losing." (Susan Walsh, Associated Press) SUSAN WALSH, ASSOCIATED PRESS

FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2013 file photo, outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta speaks during his last news conference as defense secretary. at the Pentagon. The U.S.-led military coalition in Afghanistan incorrectly reported a decline in Taliban attacks last year, and officials said Tuesday that there was actually no change in the number of attacks on international troops from 2011 to 2012. In mid-December, Panetta said "violence is down," in 2012, and that Afghan forces "have gotten much better at providing security" in areas where they have taken the lead role. He said the Taliban can be expected to continue to attack, "but overall they are losing." (Susan Walsh, Associated Press) SUSAN WALSH, ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHINO HILLS, Major James M. Dorn, Special Forces USAR (ret.): The Register recently carried a story about the Defense Department creating the Distinguished Warfare Medal for operators of drone aircraft who significantly affect combat operations ["Medal for drone operators draws fire," Life, Feb. 26]. The award will rank higher than a Bronze Star with a V Device for valor and above the Purple Heart Medal.

FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2013 file photo, outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta speaks during his last news conference as defense secretary. at the Pentagon. The U.S.-led military coalition in Afghanistan incorrectly reported a decline in Taliban attacks last year, and officials said Tuesday that there was actually no change in the number of attacks on international troops from 2011 to 2012. In mid-December, Panetta said "violence is down," in 2012, and that Afghan forces "have gotten much better at providing security" in areas where they have taken the lead role. He said the Taliban can be expected to continue to attack, "but overall they are losing." (Susan Walsh, Associated Press)

This is an insult to every serviceman or servicewoman who faces actual combat, not just in the war theater, which these operators aren't facing.

I commanded men in Vietnam who would have earned that medal practically every day we slogged through rice paddies or up and down the mountains of the Central Highlands, searching for the enemy.

The operators are joystick jockeys, far from the battlefield, and face no danger, unless you count falling off their chairs.

Eliminate this medal. It honors someone who does his job far from the battlefield without possibility of being wounded or killed in action. The existing service commendation medals already allow for recognition for outstanding job performance.

If there must be a special medal that best applies to drone operators, I suggest something like the XBox Medal or the PlayStation Ribbon. It would rank above the National Defense Service Medal and below the Purple Heart and the existing service Commendation Medal, with the understanding it is not awarded for valorous service.

This was a poorly thought-out idea from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's staff.

How defense cuts might hurt less

IRVINE, B.D. Goyal: Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta recently suggested two furlough days per pay period of two weeks for all the defense employees. That would mean a nearly 20 percent pay cut. This kind of trend may be followed by other departments, including the FBI, CIA, Immigration and other agencies. The personnel affected by this treatment may feel betrayed as a result.

The cuts should start from the top, making a much deeper impact. President Barack Obama should lead by voluntarily offering to have his pay cut by 10 percent. Cuts should follow by senators, congressmen, department heads, governors, state legislators and so on.

These government officials would hardly starve over these cuts. Rather, this benevolent action on the part of public officials of our great nation would show that we are really patriotic and have nationalistic spirit.

Assistant Public Defender Scott Sanders argued that the defense needs more time to investigate and analyze the role of a so-called jailhouse informant who listened in as Scott Dekraai made incriminating statements from his jail cell about the 2011 killings at a salon in Seal Beach.

That was almost a year and a half ago, and that isn't enough time to prepare your defense?

His defense attorney wants to delay the trial even longer. The thing that makes my blood boil is that Dekraai told the arresting officer that he did it. He had the murder weapon in his possession. He was identified by witnesses. His wife was the main target. Everyone knows he did it.

The man is a monster. Yet, this defense attorney is trying every strategy he can to defend this creep just to win a case.

Who cares what Sanders refers to as a "jailhouse informant." Dekraai killed eight people and admitted it.

So, why is the court so concerned about secretly recorded conversations where Dekraai supposedly made incriminating statements that may have "violated his rights"? His "rights"? The only "right" Dekraai is entitled to is the right to a speedy trial, but his own defense attorney is violating that right.

As far as I am concerned, Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals should be removed from the bench for granting Sanders' request.

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